Thiel College made a move on Friday that the program has never made before. The Tomcats and head coach Sam Bauman have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately, with four games left in Bauman's fifth season in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
It is the first midseason head coaching change in Thiel football history.
Offensive coordinator Greg Polis will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 season, and the school will begin a national search immediately.
"We thank Coach Bauman for serving the Thiel football program for the past five years," Thiel athletic director Isaac Collins said in the school's release.
Thiel is 0-6 this fall and has been outscored 309-72. The Tomcats opened with a 74-13 loss at Alfred State, then dropped games to receiving-votes Adrian (48-7), Bethany (52-3), Hiram (32-19), Allegheny (41-10) and Saint Vincent (62-20).
Bauman exits with an 8-38 record. His first team went 1-9 in 2022, followed by back-to-back 3-7 seasons in 2023 and 2024, the program's highest win totals since 2016. Last fall, Thiel slipped back to 1-9 overall and 1-7 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, finishing tied for ninth.
Thiel hired Bauman in February 2022 out of the College of Wooster, where he spent nine seasons. He coached linebackers there beginning in 2013, coordinated special teams in 2013 and 2014, and served as defensive coordinator from 2015 through 2021. Thiel's bio credits him with helping turn a two-win Wooster team into a seven-win team in his first year on staff. Before Wooster, he coached linebackers, ran the JV program and handled video at Rose-Hulman (2011-12) after starting as an assistant defensive backs coach at the University of Chicago in 2010. He is a 2008 Beloit graduate.
Over his tenure, Thiel produced 19 All-PAC selections and 17 CSC Academic All-District honorees.
Polis is in his second season running the Thiel offense. In his first year, the Tomcats posted their highest scoring output since 2017, including a 48-point day at Hiram, the most points Thiel had scored in a road game since 2009. Quarterback Keller Herzberger set a program single-game record with 447 passing yards, and running back Deon Logan earned All-PAC recognition.
Before Thiel, Polis spent five seasons at Hudson Valley Community College as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and strength and conditioning coordinator. His 2024 offense ranked fourth in scoring and third in total offense in NJCAA Division III, and he was named the 2022 Phil Brown Assistant Coach of the Year. He also spent eight seasons on staff at New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn. Polis played linebacker at Saint Francis and earned his bachelor's degree from Pitt-Johnstown.
His first game in charge comes October 24 when Washington & Jefferson visits Greenville. Thiel closes at Case Western Reserve, home against Westminster and at Grove City on November 14 in the 41st Mercer County Cup.
Midseason changes are rare at the Division III level, where most schools wait until the final whistle to make a move. Thiel deciding not to wait tells you where the administration landed, and it gives the next coach a head start on a job that will require a full rebuild.
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